


the elf and the prince

by WannaBeYourEunwoo (SherlockianSyndromes)



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, M/M, References to The Nutcracker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21912697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlockianSyndromes/pseuds/WannaBeYourEunwoo
Summary: MJ gets a temp job at a gift-wrapping store during the holidays, but finds himself distracted by a beautiful boy.Also everybody except Eunwoo made it into this story. Sorry Eunwoo.
Relationships: Kim Myungjun | MJ/Park Minhyuk | Rocky
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	the elf and the prince

**Author's Note:**

  * For [InterstellarBlue (nagi_schwarz)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/gifts).



MJ adjusted the hat on his head and sighed when the small bell on the tip of the hat jingled.

He’d gotten this temp job during winter break to make some extra money, but he regretted getting a job as a gift wrapper. The store’s uniform was basically an elf costume and his co-workers kept telling MJ that it made him look like an actual elf. And his hands always ached at the end of every shift from all the careful folding and pinning wrapping paper perfectly in place.

Worst of all, it reminded him that he was still single during the holiday season. Both high school kids and people his own age were bringing in gifts for their boyfriends and girlfriends. MJ could always tell when that was the case because the customer would blush profusely as they handed over the gift, and then always looked positively overjoyed when MJ handed back their now neatly wrapped gift covered in bows and ribbons.

He was making _them_ look good, and it just wasn’t fair. It wasn’t like he had a girlfriend (or boyfriend, for that matter) to give a holiday gift to.

MJ jumped slightly when the door buzzer went off. To tell the truth, he was happy to be brought out of his funk - after all, there would be time for sulking later tonight while he ate instant ramyeon alone in his dorm room.

He felt even happier when he saw the customer who’d walked through the door.

First of all, the boy wasn’t a giant, which was nice because MJ was reminded every single day how short he was. His dark hair looked very silky and his limbs were long and graceful, and then MJ noticed that the handsome customer was approaching his co-worker Sanha and not him.

“Yah! Sanha, go on break!” MJ shouted.

Sanha looked over at MJ, face puzzled. “Hyung, I just had my break -”

“But you forgot to do that very important thing I asked you to do. Remember? Go get that wrapping paper I like.” MJ’s eyes were growing wider and wider as he spoke, trying to signal to Sanha that he wanted to wrap this customer’s gift.

Finally, Sanha was catching on, but instead of being respectful to his elder, he smirked. “MJ-hyung, let me help this customer and then I will go get your favorite wrapping paper.”

“It’s okay,” the customer said quietly. Both MJ and Sanha paused.

“I mean, you can go get that wrapping paper. Your hyung can help me out, I’m sure.” The boy nodded solemnly.

Now it was Sanha’s turn to sulk. “Okay. I’ll be right back, hyung.” He shuffled away and soon MJ had the beautiful boy all to himself.

He flashed his best smile, and was elated when the boy smiled back. His smile lit up the whole room. MJ had trouble looking away.

“So, uh...I need a couple of gifts wrapped.”

MJ blinked. Oh, right. Gift wrapping. That’s why there were both here.

“Right, of course! You can look through this book of wrapping paper samples and pick whatever you’d like.”

“I thought your co-worker was going to get your favorite wrapping paper. Don’t you want to wait for him?” The boy raised an eyebrow, but MJ could he tell he was biting back a smirk.

“It doesn’t matter what my favorite is, what matters is what wrapping paper appeals to you. Besides, I’m sure I have just enough of my favorite kind to wrap at least one of those boxes.”

Together, they went through the motions of picking out paper, ribbon, and bows. The beautiful boy even went the extra mile and got every single add-on that MJ suggested.

Finally, MJ reached the last stage with the last upsell - name tags.

“Would you like me to write up a special name tag for your gift? I promise I have excellent handwriting.” MJ had been hamming it up the entire time he’d worked on the order, but the boy had responded with both smiles and laughter, so he figured he must have been doing something right.

“Sure,” the boy agreed once again. He picked out one of the name tags that MJ presented to him and MJ took out his marker with a flourish.

“What name should I write in the _To_ space?”

The boy said the name and MJ carefully copied it down.

“And from?” Inside, MJ was squealing with joy because he would finally know the cute boy’s name, and for a totally legitimate reason.

“Just put...Rocky.”

MJ looked up. “Eh? Rocky? That sounds like an idol name.”

Rocky laughed again. “It’s my nickname. Everybody calls me that.”

MJ wrote the characters 라키 into the _From_ space. He peeled the label away from its backing and placed it neatly on one of the packages, and then proceeded with the next label.

When MJ was finished, he actually felt proud of his work for once. He’d really gone all out for Rocky’s gifts, and Rocky looked pleased too.

MJ rang up the total for the wrapping paper and all the extra items he’d added on to make Rocky’s presents look beautiful. He was dragging out the final transaction on purpose because he didn’t want Rocky to leave. However, MJ could no longer avoid it as he gave Rocky back his change.

“Thanks for coming by!” MJ said brightly, though inside he could already feel himself beginning to mope.

“Thank you - MJ, was it?”

MJ felt himself blush, but then remembered there was a name tag attached to his uniform. “Yes, MJ. Happy holidays...Rocky.”

Rocky smiled again and MJ felt his heart flutter. He waved goodbye and walked out of the store, and MJ waved back even though Rocky’s back was turned.

“MJ-hyung, you are _so_ extra.”

Sanha’s voice came from behind him, and MJ turned around just in time to see Sanha roll his eyes.

“It’s not my fault that I’m the best at wrapping presents around here.”

“Okay, but you’re the worst at flirting. He looked familiar though, don’t you think? I swear I’ve seen him somewhere before -”

“Yah!” MJ shouted. “Did you even get me the wrapping paper?”

“No,” Sanha whined, “you’ve told me a different one is your favorite every single shift!”

Soon, the door buzzer rang again, and another customer came in. This time, MJ let Sanha tend to their needs, because he wanted a few more moments to daydream about the mysterious Rocky.

Who would Rocky give those presents to? His family? His girlfriend?

His boyfriend?

That night as MJ drifted off to sleep, he dreamed of walking through a snowy forest with Rocky at his side. They held hands the entire time.

~

MJ arrived for his next shift feeling a little more refreshed and upbeat than usual. He’d had the day off yesterday, and had spent his day wrapping presents to send to his own family, while managing to squeeze in a few hours of studying.

He’d dreamt about Rocky again too.

MJ walked into the _Employees Only_ area, and began pulling his work accessories out of his bag. His shift supervisor walked in shortly after, looking like he had a million things on his mind.

“Good morning, Jinwoo!”

Jinwoo looked up and gave him a polite smile. “Yo, MJ-hyung. You sound cheerful today.”

“Yah! I sound cheerful everyday.” MJ frowned.

“But today you actually mean it. Let’s hope you can keep it up...it will probably be very busy from now on since it’s getting close to Christmas,” Jinwoo tried to sound confident, but MJ could tell that he was feeling stressed out.

MJ put on his hat and shook his head around wildly, the bell jingling like crazy. “Elf MJ, reporting for duty! Don’t worry so much!”

“Thanks.” This time Jinwoo’s smile looked a little more sincere. “Oh, by the way, a customer asked for you yesterday. It was weird.”

“Oh? What did they look like?”

Jinwoo looked thoughtful. “Hmm. He had dark hair and a serious face. He said you’d wrapped presents for him the day before. He actually looked kind of familiar, but I can’t really say why. Maybe I’ve seen him around the shopping center.”

MJ’s eyes went wide. Could it have been...?

“Did he say his name was Rocky?”

Jinwoo shook his head. “No, he didn’t give me his name. I told him that you would be back today though. Maybe he’ll stop by again.”

MJ felt his heart soar.

“Yah! Were you flirting with a customer?” Jinwoo asked accusingly.

“Of course not!” MJ insisted, though he knew he was grinning like crazy and Jinwoo could probably see right through his lie.

“Be professional, hyung! Now get out there so I can open the store.”

~

Jinwoo had been right - the store was much more chaotic today than it had been in the last week. MJ stayed busy the whole morning and was thankful when it was finally time for his lunch break.

He collapsed in a chair in the break room and gently poked at his instant ramyeon with his chopsticks. It was nice to be sitting down and not folding paper or tying ribbons, if only for a little while.

At least it was nice until Sanha burst into the room with an excitable look on his face.

“Hyung, he’s back!”

“Sanha, I’m on my break!” MJ tried to prove his point by shoving a huge amount of noodles into his mouth

“But Rocky is back! He has more gifts that need wrapping and he’s asking for you.”

MJ gave Sanha a wide-eyed stare, noodles hanging comically from his mouth. He slurped and chewed his way through the bite and quickly wiped off his face.

“Why didn’t you say that to begin with!?” MJ stood up, dusted off his uniform, and straightened his hat. He put on his best smile as he walked back out into the store.

Sanha wasn’t lying - Rocky was waiting patiently in front of the counter with more boxes in front of him. Jinwoo was helping another customer but quickly caught MJ’s gaze and glared at him.

 _No flirting_!

“Welcome back, Rocky!” MJ announced loudly. “Do you need my superior wrapping skills again?”

Rocky ducked his head slightly. “Ah, yes, MJ-ssi. I really liked how you wrapped the presents I brought in the other day and was wondering if you wouldn’t mind wrapping a few more.”

MJ grinned. “I would love to!”

They repeated the process again, MJ putting in just as much effort, if not more. As he finished up the last gift, he decided to be a bit bold. After all, why not? Rocky had come back into the store and asked for him. That had to mean something, right?

“So,” MJ began as he pulled out the booklet of name tags, “Who is the lucky person today? Is it your girlfriend?”

Might as well cut to the chase.

Rocky’s brow furrowed. “No. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Oh,” MJ replied casually. It would be too forward to ask if they were for a boyfriend, so he tried to keep the conversation light.

“Friend? Family?”

“It’s for a friend of mine. He’s actually supposed to meet up with me in a few minutes, so if we could hurry, I would appreciate it.”

MJ tried his best not to frown. Perhaps it was for a boyfriend, after all.

But maybe not.

MJ filled out the name tags without any unnecessary chatter. He took the gifts down to the cash register and began to ring up Rocky’s order.

“Rocky! Are you almost done? We’re going to be late!”

MJ looked up and saw a tall boy walking toward Rocky with a concerned look on his face. He had a similar build to Rocky, but he was a little more broad in the shoulders. His hair was baby pink and MJ couldn’t help but notice that this boy was cute too, and spoke to Rocky in a familiar way.

“Sorry, Bin-hyung. We’re almost done, right, MJ-ssi?”

MJ plastered a cheerful smile on his face. “Yes. Your total is...”

Rocky handed over some crumpled bills and MJ counted out his change.

Rocky smiled politely and nodded. “Thank you again, MJ-ssi. You did a wonderful job.”

“You’re welcome. Merry Christmas!” MJ tried to sound chipper, but he felt himself deflating with each passing second. He should have known better than to have a crush on a beautiful boy.

Rocky paused, a look of concern flitting across his face before returning to a placid, neutral expression. “Merry Christmas, MJ.”

MJ watched Rocky walk out of the store with his friend Bin, and sighed.

“Yah! I’m going back on break, Jinwoo!”

MJ sat down in the break room and glared at his cup of cold and soggy noodles.

He felt very lonely.

~

The next few shifts went by in a blur. MJ went through the motions, kept up a happy face and joked around with his co-workers, but all the while he couldn’t help thinking about Rocky and his probably-boyfriend Bin.

MJ wished he could go home for Christmas, but he couldn’t afford to. Instead, he secretly planned on buying a bottle of soju, and maybe some tasty snacks to go with it. He would do a video chat with his family, and then settle in for a warm, cozy evening all on his own.

Maybe being alone wouldn’t be so bad.

~

Finally, it was Christmas Eve. There had been many customers throughout the day, but as it grew later, the store grew quieter. MJ passed the time by sweeping up behind the counter and putting away stray supplies. Sanha sat at the cash register, playing on his phone. MJ wasn’t sure where Jinwoo was - probably in the back somewhere, fretting for no reason.

The door buzzer rang, and MJ set his broom to the side for the time being.

“Welcome! How can I help you?”

When MJ finally looked up to see who had come in, he was shocked to see that it was Rocky. He hadn’t come into the store again since he’d stopped by with Bin.

“Oh, hello Rocky. Do you have a last minute gift?”

Rocky approached the counter slowly, his eyes carefully avoiding MJ. He reached up and scratched the back of his neck and finally looked at MJ.

“Yes, I have a gift. I don’t need it wrapped though.”

MJ looked at him quizzically. “Eh? Why are you here then? Do you need a card or something? Sanha can help you pick out a card at the register -”

“It’s a present for you, MJ-ssi.”

MJ blinked a few times. “Wh-what?”

Rocky placed a blank envelope on the counter and slid it over towards MJ.

“This is a present for you. Merry Christmas.” Rocky smiled slightly, but MJ could tell that he felt really nervous for some reason.

“Thank you,” MJ said quietly. He picked up the envelope and opened it. Inside was a backstage pass to a performance of The Nutcracker.

Suddenly, something clicked inside MJ’s mind.

“Wait, you...you’re Park Minhyuk, aren’t you?!”

Rocky nodded, smiling shyly. “Yes, I am.”

“You’re the boy playing the Nutcracker Prince in this year’s production! Your face is on all the posters in the shopping center!”

Rocky nodded again. “That’s me.”

MJ was awestruck for a few moments. That was why both Sanha and Jinwoo thought Rocky had looked familiar. Now that he looked at Rocky again, MJ remembered seeing his face on all the Nutcracker posters he walked by every day on his way to the store.

“Wait - so you’re giving me a backstage pass?”

“Yes. Tonight is the final performance and I wanted you to come...as my date. If you’d like to.”

MJ grinned and jumped over the counter and, without thinking, grabbed Rocky around his chest and hugged him. “I would love to!”

The door buzzer sounded again, and both MJ and Rocky turned around. Bin was standing in the doorway.

“Ah, are you done confessing? We don’t want to be late for our last performance.”

Rocky turned back and looked at MJ. “Can you go now? We can walk together to the theater.”

“Yah! Jinwoo! I have a date so I’m leaving!” MJ yelled over his shoulder.

Jinwoo poked his head out from the back room and saw MJ with his arms around Rocky.

“I told you, no flirting! But have a good time, hyung. Merry Christmas!”

“Yeah, Merry Christmas!” Sanha added.

“Thank you! Merry Christmas!” MJ shouted. He grabbed Rocky’s hand and tugged him toward the door. “Let’s go.”

Rocky laughed. “Don’t you want to change first? You still look like an elf.”

MJ looked down at his uniform. “Oh, right. Wait for me! I’ll hurry!”

A few moments later, MJ and Rocky were walking hand in hand toward the theater and it began to snow.

“I’m glad you’re here with me,” Rocky whispered quietly.

“Me too,” MJ answered. His Christmas dream had come true - he wouldn’t be alone after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas Nagi! ::hugs::
> 
> And thank you Bru for the speedy beta and kind words.


End file.
